Page 30 of Tammaro DeLuca

TAMMARO

One of Beni’s men who he trusted was now Asmaria’s driver. He’d take her wherever she needed to go, including to and from school. I let both Yolanda and Asmaria know, so there weren’t any issues. After I clarified Cruz wasn’t there to spy on her, Asmaria relaxed into the idea.

It worked for a few weeks with no problems. On that fourth one, I received a call from him while Asmaria was at the mall with friends. That same cop that had followed me some time ago was following her. He hadn’t approached her, but he was there. Cruz was following him to make sure that he did nothing stupid, but it posed a problem. Who was this guy?

“Detective Walter Shields. He’s helping them over at Puff find criminal activity on you so they can link it to the property.” Beni told me when I called him.

“Why am I just hearing about this?” I asked him, pissed off that he had the information, and I didn’t.

“What exactly were you going to do about it? Approach him? Kill him? No, that’s not suspicious at all.” He joked.

“Then, what?”

“We let him bury himself.” Make sure that Cruz gets pictures of him following Asmaria.

My phone beeped, and it was Asmaria calling me.

“I have to take this.” I said to Beni before disconnecting suddenly. “Hey, honeydew.”

“I thought you trusted me.” She began.

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“Why is Mr. Cruz in the mall following me?”

“I don’t know what you mean.” I picked up my burner and called Cruz. What the fuck was he doing?

“He’s right here trying not to look suspicious. We’re in the nail salon.”

“Is he not allowed to get a mani/pedi?”

“Really, daddy?”

“I don’t know what that man does in his spare time.”

Cruz answered, and I muted the call I was on with Asmaria.

“What are you doing? She can see you.” I spat at him.

“He’s in here.”

“Do something that doesn’t look so fucking obvious. Walk over there to the counter and make sure that you get something done so that my daughter isn’t on the fucking phone asking me about why you’re in there.”

“Copy.”

“And next time, don’t be so out in the open. I doubt he’s going to try something with all those people around. Your job is to make sure that he doesn’t, not to make her aware that something is amidst.”

“Copy.”

I ended the call and listened as Asmaria talked to her friend and ignored me.

“Honeydew, are you going to talk to her about colors or tell me what you need?”

“I only wondered why he was following me,” she muttered.

“Is he?”

“I think so, though he’s about to get a massage. Did you call him?” She asked.

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